Three Get Ready and Four Let’s Go to Bryce Canyon National Park

Accommodations: RV and tent camping in the park, and Bryce Canyon Lodge.

Hotel and additional RV camping just outside the park entrance.

Park shuttle available from April through October (not mandatory as in Zion).

Dining available at Bryce Canyon Lodge.

When to go: we recommend June through mid-September.

Bryce Canyon is undeniably one of the jewels in the crown of the National Park System. The breathtaking scenery leaves most who view it speechless. All we could say when we got to Inspiration Point was, “Wow!”, and it took a few minutes before another word was uttered by either of us. Every stop in the park is incredibly impressive, so let’s go!

Getting There

⇒From Zion National Park, take Highway 9 east to US Highway 89 north toward Panguitch, Utah. Travel tip: when traveling in or with an RV, check with Zion National Park before attempting Highway 9 east out of the park. The Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, which lies between the east park entrance and the south park entrance, may or may not accommodate your vehicle/trailer. The park has special regulations/fees for RVs traveling this road.

⇒Turn right (east) on to Highway 12 (Scenic Byway 12 – All American Road, and it lives up to its name for all 121 miles!) Drive time between Zion and Bryce Canyon: 1.5 hours.

Tunnel on Highway 12 – All American Road

⇒From Salt Lake City, take I-15 south to Cedar City: Drive time between Salt Lake City and Cedar City: 3.5 hours. At Cedar City, take Highway 14 east toward Cedar Breaks National Monument. Bonus stop: Cedar Breaks National Monument. Deep canyon featuring gorgeous red rock formations and hoodoos. The perfect prelude to Bryce Canyon. Here’s a link: Cedar Breaks National Monument. Continue on Highway 14 east to US Highway 89. Take US Highway 89 north to Highway 12 (Scenic Byway 12 – All American Road) and turn right (east) to Bryce Canyon. Drive time between Cedar City and Bryce Canyon: 1.5 hours.

Bonus stop: Red Canyon Visitor Center. Hiking, biking, camping, and picnicking here. Another prelude to what Bryce Canyon holds in store. Great place for a rest stop or a picnic, plus some great photo ops.

Formations at Red Canyon

Suggested accommodations in the area: Ruby’s Innat the entrance to Bryce Canyon. Here’s a link: Ruby’s Inn. There is also camping available and a small grocery store near Ruby’s Inn. Days Inn in Panguitch. Here’s a link: Days Inn, Panguitch, Utah. Campgrounds available in Panguitch. Drive time between Panguitch and Bryce Canyon: 30 minutes.

Suggested restaurant in Panguitch: The Original Kenny Rays – 80 N Main St.

Destination: Bryce Canyon National Park

⇒From Highway 12, turn right (south) on to Highway 63 to the park entrance. Stop at the visitor center for park information, then continue on Highway 63 south. The park road is 18 miles long with stops for each “canyon” and “point” in the park. Rim Trail from Sunrise Point to Sunset Point to Inspiration Point is a popular hike. Inspiration Point sits at an elevation of 8100 feet.

View from Inspiration Point

⇒Continuing along the road, stop at all of the pull outs (there are at least 14 of them) for different views and formations. As far as we know, there is nothing else in the world like Bryce Canyon, and you will want to see it all. Outstanding photo ops at every stop! Here are a few of ours:

⇒There is a wonderful picnic area and overlook at Rainbow Point, which is the last stop on the park road. Rainbow Point sits at an elevation of 9100 feet. Travel tip: dress in layers, as temperatures in the higher elevations may be much cooler than at lower elevations.

View from Rainbow Point

Click the website link at the top of the page for details about hiking in Bryce Canyon. We liked the Mossy Cave Trail. The trailhead is on Highway 12 east of the park entrance. The trail runs along a shallow stream to a small waterfall. There is no shade on this trail, so come prepared if the weather is hot.

Along Mossy Cave TrailWaterfall at Mossy Cave Trail

⇒Side trip: Kodachrome Basin State Park. Take Highway 12 toward Tropic, Utah, and then Cannonville, Utah, and follow the road to the park. Drive time: between Bryce Canyon and Kodachrome Basin: 30 minutes.

Cost: $8.00 per vehicle

RV and tent camping available

Bunkhouses available

Drive through the park on paved and unpaved roads for views of the rock formations, or get up close and personal with the park’s features by hiking the easy trails.

Above and below: spectacular scenery at Kodachrome Basin State Park.
Some believe that the tower or pinnacle formations, such as the one above, are ancient thermal features, or parts of ancient springs, or geysers, perhaps. Whatever they are, they are interesting formations that probably can’t be seen anywhere else.

View from Highway 12 near Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

⇒When leaving Kodachrome Basin or Bryce Canyon, take Highway 12 east toward Escalante, Utah and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Travel tip: Use extreme caution on Highway 12 through Grand Staircase-Escalante. There are twists, turns, and high points on the two lane road with no guardrails in some places. The scenery is spectacular and very worth the road trip. Continue north to Highway 24 east and Capitol Reef National Park or,

⇒Take Highway 12 west back toward Panguich and then north on Highway 89 to Highway 20 west to I-15 and back to Salt Lake City.

Bryce Canyon is one of the parks that everyone should get to experience. We hope that you enjoy your visit there as much as we enjoyed ours. Please drop us a note below and tell us about your trip to Bryce Canyon, or any other trip, for that matter. We would love to hear from you.

Travel safe, travel smart, and we will see you down the road.

Mike and Kellye

As always, we strive to be as accurate with our information as possible. If we made a mistake, it was unintentional. (Hey, we’re only human!) We aren’t paid for our recommendations, and we only recommend our own tried and true vendors and venues. Our suggestions are for places that we’ve heard good things about but haven’t visited personally, and our opinions are our own.